In a small, idyllic town, fifth-grader Amiko (Kana Osawa) lives with her parents (Arata Iura and Machiko Ono) and her older brother. She is innocent, exuberant, and a little eccentric. Like other kids of her age, she has crushes and is excited about her birthday. But unlike others, she has a hard time understanding the feelings of others and expressing herself appropriately. When tragedy befalls her family, her parents can barely function and her brother starts acting out. Perplexed by their reactions, Amiko finds comfort in her own imaginative world while trying to connect with her loved ones. Just like the way she uses her walkie-talkie, Amiko keeps trying to reach out despite the silence on the other end. Adapted from the prize-winning novel by Natsuko Imamura, Amiko approaches the themes of empathy and grief with the astute touch of first-time director Yusuke Morii, a talented cast of actors, and a beautiful soundtrack by Ichiko Aoba.

Amiko was named the fourth best Japanese film in 2022 by Kinema Junpo and won the Taiwan Film Critics Society Award at the 2023 Taipei Film Festival.

Yusuke Morii (b. 1985, Japan) is a graduate of the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. He was an assistant director on Every Day a Good Day (2018) before making his directorial debut with Amiko (2022), for which he won the Gold Prize at the 2022 Kaneto Shindo Awards.